The future of food: A fork in the road and on the dinner table

Again and again, we experience the fragility of our food systems. In the early days of the pandemic, grocery stores emptied as demand surged and supply vanished. Ongoing global supply chain issues have kept some of our favorite products off the shelf. Schools and food banks still struggle to provide nutrition for those who need it most.

Like many others, the Legislature turned to local farmers during this emergency. Last year Washington funded over $90 million towards food security, advancing programs that connect farmers to schools, families, and markets. But even with these investments, we are far from secure in our ability to feed the population.

We need the Legislature to intentionally protect farmland. Not only will this strengthen the resilience of food systems and the economic vitality of farms, but it will also play a critical role in climate change. With the right guidance, farming will contribute to Washington’s goals for carbon reduction and healthy soils.

In Thurston County, we lose farmland at an alarming rate. According to the Census of Agriculture, the county lost 23% of farmland between 2007 and 2017. Over 18,000 acres were converted. Sprawling real estate markets are pricing farmers off the land, forever changing rural landscapes. Cities have not built the diverse and dense housing needed for the growing population, creating greater pressure to develop farmland.

In addition to losing the land, we are losing the farmers. For every producer under the age of 35, five have reached the age of retirement. We need young people to be excited about growing food by advancing farm practices that align with their values. We should also support the economic viability of farming. Elder farmers cannot retire without selling their land, and the next farmer struggles to compete with the housing market.

Those who experience racial discrimination face the greatest barriers, including decades of biased lending practices at the United States Department of Agriculture. The census shows only 3.4% of producers in Thurston County identified as a farmer of color; lower than the 3.9% average across the state and 4.5% nationwide.

The future of food is uncertain, and we are at a critical juncture. The Legislature should respond by funding two new programs at the State Conservation Commission at $2 million each: Farmland Protection and Land Access (FPLA) and Sustainable Farms and Fields (SFF).

FPLA is a tool to take farmland off the market for development. It is designed to help transfer ownership to the next generation and secure the viability of farming into the future. Using easements, land is brought to its agricultural value, compensating the landowner for the loss. This supports the retirement of an aging farmer and provides affordable farmland for generations to come. FPLA fills a critical gap in a multi-partner effort, leveraging the resources of a new revolving loan program that prioritizes access for beginning and historically underserved farmers.

SFF will invest in climate smart agriculture for those eager to adopt new practices. Over 200 producers contributed to the vision and foundation of this program. No-till farming, cover crops, and conservation grazing show real promise for the future. On top of the carbon benefit, better farm practices will conserve water and restore ecological services, with priority given to projects that align agriculture with salmon recovery.

We are at a fork in the road and on our collective dinner table. The future of food can be bright, sustaining the health and resilience of our communities. It can also be bleak, unable to meet our needs during times of emergency. These modest investments by the Legislature will point us in the right direction.

Dani Madrone is the Pacific Northwest Policy Manager for the American Farmland Trust. She can be reached at dmadrone@farmland.org